Apple TV+ has become a safe haven for ambitious — and expensive — genre shows. More than any streamer out there, Apple believes in its product; it also has money to burn on outré projects that catch its fancy. It helps that Apple TV shows, especially its trove of sci-fi stories, are frequently very good, but even many of the so-so ones get several seasons to mature and improve, which is more than Prime Video or HBO Max can say. Ironically, hardly anyone is actually watching Apple TV — but with the rise of new comedy-thriller Murderbot, audiences have more reason than ever to tune in.
Murderbot fills a particular niche in Apple’s stable. The streamer has plenty of dramatic sci-fi shows, like For All Mankind or the dystopian Silo, but despite its grim title, Murderbot is surprisingly lighthearted. Based on the books by Martha Wells, it follows the adventures of a cyborg Security Unit (or “SecUnit”) and the optimistic survey team it’s assigned to protect.
Alexander Skarsgård narrates the series with a snark similar to Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17, and while Murderbot doesn’t skimp on action or violence, it feels just as much like a workplace comedy. Showrunners Chris and Paul Weitz maintain a perfect balance between those poles, making its first season one of the year’s most surprising offerings. And this won’t be the last we see of SecUnit: Murderbot has been renewed for a second season.
With Season 1 ending on July 11, Apple’s head of programming, Matt Chemiss, announced plans to continue SecUnit’s adventures. “Chris, Paul, Alexander, and the entire Murderbot team have delivered a brilliantly original, addictive, witty and vibrant adaptation that has captured the imagination of audiences everywhere,” Cherniss said in a statement. “We can’t wait to unveil what’s next for Murderbot.”
Murderbot Season 1 adapted the first novella in Wells’ series, so Season 2 will likely take on the second, Artificial Condition. The creative team may need to take some liberties with the source material, but Murderbot has largely embraced the series’ central premise. Season 1 has introduced a murder mystery that runs throughout the books: SecUnit names itself “Murderbot” when it finds a way to circumvent the programming that makes it a compliant worker, but it’s also trying to work out a patchy memory from its past. Before its current gig, Murderbot murdered 57 people, and it has no idea why. That mystery sets up a great throughline for Season 2, and now we know the show will have time to properly explore it.
